GB2106402A

GB2106402A - Toy vehicles

Info

Publication number: GB2106402A
Application number: GB08129404A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Lap Kwan Cheng
Original assignee: Hang Tjuk Ind Co Ltd
Current assignee: Hang Tjuk Ind Co Ltd
Priority date: 1981-09-29
Filing date: 1981-09-29
Publication date: 1983-04-13
Also published as: US4488375A; GB2106402B; HK101285A

Description

1 GB 2 106 402 A 1

SPECIFICATION Improvements in or relating to toy vehicles

This invention relates to improvements in or relating to toy vehicles.

Toy motor vehicles have been proposed which can be driven by an electrically powered motor, clockwork or the like and can perform a number of functions such as reversing, or turning on meeting an obstacle. Toy motor vehicles have also been proposed which can be caused to turn, reverse and so on by remote control, for example using a radio transmitter and receiver.

It is an object of the present invention to enable the provision of a novel toy motor vehicle.

According to the present invention there is provided a toy vehicle comprising a frame, a body pivotally mounted on the frame, and means for effecting movement of the vehicle and pivotal movement of the body relative to the frame.

For a better understanding of the present 85 invention, and to show how the same may be put into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 shows a perspective view of a toy motor car embodying the present invention during a stage in the manufacture thereof, and FIGURE 2 shows an exploded perspective view of a gear box of the toy motor car of Figure 1.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a toy motor car comprising a body 18, a frame 25 and a bottom cover 36. In order to complete manufacture of the toy motor car, the body 18 is secured to the bottom cover 36 by means of screws 37 so that the body 18 and the bottom cover 36 are pivotally supported by the frame 25 about the line A-13. The frame 25 is provided with two back wheels 24 and two front wheels 33 rotatably mounted thereon. The frame 25 is also provided with a gear box 20 fixedly mounted thereon, the gear box 20 having disposed therein a DC motor 2 for driving the back wheels 24 in rotation and for effecting turning of the front wheels 33 and pivotal movement of the body 18 and the bottom cover 36 relative to the frame 25, as will be described in more detail hereinafter. Because the motor 2 is supported by the frame 25, and the body 18 and bottom cover 36 are pivotally supported by the frame 25 about a line which is at a distance from the motor 2, the force which must be exerted by means of the motor2 to 115 cause pivotal movement of the body 18 and bottom cover 36 is relatively small and thus the motor 2 can be small. The bottom cover 36 is provided with battery terminals 34 and 35 and a switch 27 so that batteries may be placed in the 120 bottom cover 36 for powering the motor 2 when the switch 27 is in the "on" position. The batteries may also be used to power headlamps 30 of the toy motor car.

The gear box 20 comprises a casing 1, an inner 125 plate 12 and a cover 9 which is secured to the casing 1 by means of screws 8. The motor 2 is disposed in the casing 1. In use, rotational motion is transmitted from the motor 2 to a shaft 7 via a pinion 3, which is fixedly mounted on a shaft of the motor 2, gear wheels 10 and 11, which are slidably and rotatably mounted on shafts 7 and 15 respectively, and a gear wheel 6, which is fixedly mounted on the shaft 7. The shaft 15 is slidably and rotatably inserted through holes formed in the casing 1, the inner plate 12 and the cover 9. The shaft 15 is provided with a clutch comprising a gearwheel 13, which is slidably and rotatably mounted on the shaft 15, and a gear wheel 14, which is fixedly mounted on the shaft 15 and provided with inclined flanges adapted to engage with corresponding flanges formed on the gear wheel 13. In the embodiment illustrated, the gear ratio between the gearwheels 13 and 14 is 36:35. The clutch is disposed inside the gear box casing 1 and is maintained in contact with the inner plate 12 by means of a helical compression spring 16 through which the shaft 15 is slidably inserted. A rear axle 5 of the toy motor car is rotatably inserted through holes formed in the casing 1, the inner plate 12 and the cover 9, and is provided with a pinion 4 fixedly mounted thereon. A back wheel 24 is fixedly mounted at each end of the rear axle 5. Also, a pinion 17 is rotatably mounted within the inner casing 1.

Thus, when the switch 27 is in the---onposition, power is transmitted to the motor 2 which effects rotation of the shaft 7. The rotational movement is transmitted to the shaft 15 by engagement between the gear wheel 6 and the gearwheels 13 and 14. In a first position of the shaft 15, wherein the spring 16 is slightly compressed and the gear wheels 13 and 14 are spaced apart by a minimum distance determined by the depth of the flanges thereon, the gear wheel 14 engages with the pinion 4, thereby effecting rotation of the rear axle 5 and thus of the back wheels 24. The toy motor car thus travels in a forward direction. During such motion, the pinion 17 is engaged only by the pinion 4 and is rotated thereby. Because of the differing speeds of rotation of the gear wheels 13 and 14, interaction between the inclined flanges thereon causes the gear wheel 14, and thus the shaft 15, to be pushed axially against the biassing action of the spring 16. The gear wheel 14, therefore, moves out of contact with the pinion 4 so that the rear axle is no longer driven directly thereby. Instead, rotational movement is transmitted from the gear wheel 14 to the pin 4 via the pinion 17, with which the gear wheel 14 now meshes. Thus, the direction of rotation of the rear axle is reversed and the toy motor car travels in a reverse direction. When the shaft 15 has reached a second position thereof wherein the spring 16 is compressed to a maximum extent and the distance between the gearwheels 13 and 14 has reached a maximum value equal to twice the depth of the flanges thereon, the flanges on the respective gear wheels 13 and 14 are able to slide over one another and the shaft 15 snaps back to the first position thereof in response to the moving action of the spring 16. Thus, the toy motor car can move forwards and in reverse at 2 GB 2 106 402 A 2 predetermined intervals.

Disposed at either end of the shafts 15 and outside the gear box 20 are a pinion 19 and a cam 23 (not shown in Figure 2). The pinion 19 is fixedly mounted on the shaft 15 and is adapted to engage a rack of a lever 32 for turning the front wheels 33. The cam 23 is fixedly and eccentrically mounted on the shaft 15. A cam follower 22 is pivotally secured to the outside of the gear box 20 by means of a washer 2 1. When the shaft 15 is in the first position thereof the rotating cam contacts the cam follower which moves up and down in response to push the body 18 vertically at intervals. Thus, when the toy motor car is moving in the forward direction the body 18 and bottom cover 36 rock pivotally on the frame 25 to imitate 80 the movements of a car travelling over undulating sand. During such movement the pinion 19 does not engage the lever 32. As the shaft 15 moves from the first position to the second position thereof, and the gear wheel 14 is thus disengaged 85 from the pinion 4 and engages the pinion 17, thereby reversing the motion of the toy motor car, the cam 23 moves out of contact with the cam follower 22 and the pinion 19 engages the rack of the lever 32 thereby turning the front wheels 33. 90 Thus, the toy motor car reverses and turns at the same time. When the shaft 15 snaps back to the first position thereof, and the pinion 19 is thus disengaged from the lever 32, the front wheels 33 are restored to their forward facing orientation by 95 means of a tension spring 3 1.

Thus, the present invention enables the provision of a toy motor car which can travel forwards whilst exhibiting a rocking motion and backwards whilst turning, and can change 100 direction at predetermined intervals.

Claims

1. A toy vehicle comprising a frame, a body pivotally mounted on the frame, and means for effecting movement of the vehicle and pivotal movement of the body relative to the frame.

2. A toy vehicle according to Claim 1, wherein the movement means is adapted to effect movement of the vehicle in first and second directions and, in use, pivotal movement of the body relative to the frame is effected only during movement of the vehicle in the first direction.

3. A toy vehicle according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the movement means comprises an electrically powerable motor.

4. A toy vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the movement means comprises gear means.

5. A toy vehicle according to Claim 4, wherein 120 the gear means comprises clutch means for changing the direction of motion of the vehicle.

6. A toy vehicle according to Claim 5, wherein the clutch means is adapted to change, in use, the direction of motion of the vehicle at predetermined 125 time intervals.

7. Toy vehicle according to Claim 6, wherein the clutch means comprises a shaft rotatably and slidably mounted relative to the frame, a clutch for effecting axial movement of the shaft from a first position thereof to a second position thereof and means for restoring the shaft to the first position thereof, and a driving wheel of the vehicle is adapted to be driven in rotation by the clutch means, the arrangement being such that, in use, when the shaft of the clutch means is in the first axial position thereof, the driving wheel is rotated one way, and when the shaft of the clutch means is in the second axial position thereof, the driving wheel is rotated the other way.

8. A toy vehicle according to Claim 7, wherein the restoring means comprises a helical compression spring.

9. A toy vehicle according to Claim 7 or 8, wherein the clutch comprises a first gear wheel fixedly mounted on the shaft and provided with inclined flanges and a second gear wheel slidably and rotatably mounted on the shaft and provided with inclined flanges adapted to cooperate with the inclined flanges of the first gear wheel, the gear ratio between the first and second gear wheels being other than 1 and the first and second gear wheels being simultaneously drivable in rotation by a common gear means.

10. A toy vehicle according to any one of Claims 7 to 9, wherein the driving wheel is fixedly mounted on an axle the axle being rotatably mounted relative to the frame and provided with a pinion fixedly mounted thereon.

11. A toy vehicle according to Claim 10, when dependent on Claim 9, wherein, in use, when the shaft of the clutch means is in the first axial position thereof, the pinion engages the first gear wheel of the clutch and, when the shaft of the clutch means is in the second axial position thereof, the pinion is coupled with the first gear wheel of the clutch via further gear means.

12. A toy vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein pivotal movement of the body relative to the frame is effected, in use, by means of a cam and a cam follower.

13. A toy vehicle according to Claim 12 when dependent on any one of Claims 7 to 11, wherein the cam is eccentrically and fixedly mounted on the shaft of the clutch means and the cam follower is pivotally mounted relative to the frame, the arrangement being such that, in use, when the shaft is in the first axial position thereof the cam engages the cam follower, and when the shaft is in the second axial position thereof the cam is disengaged from the cam follower.

14. A toy vehicle according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein means actuable by the movement means are provided for turning the vehicle.

15. A toy vehicle according to Claim 14, wherein the movement means is adapted to effect movement of the vehicle in first and second directions and, in use, the turning means are actuated only during movement of the vehicle in the second direction.

16. A toy vehicle according to Claim 14 or 15, wherein the turning means comprises a rack and pinion arrangement.

A 1 j 1 3 GB 2 106 402- A 3

17. A toy vehicle according to Claim 16 when dependent on any one of Claims 7 to 11, wherein the pinion of the rack and pinion arrangement is fixedly mounted on the shaft of the clutch means and the rack is adapted to turn a driven wheel axle on the vehicle, the arrangement being such that, in use, when the shaft is in the first axial position thereof, the pinion is disengaged from the rack, and, when the shaft is in the second axial 10 position thereof, the pinion engages the rack.

18. A toy vehicle according to Claim 17, wherein means are provided for restoring the rack to a predetermined position when the pinion is disengaged from the rack, such that, in use, when the rack is in the predetermined position the vehicle travels in a straight line.

19. A toy vehicle according to Claim 18, wherein the restoring means comprises a helical tension spring. 20

20. A toy vehicle, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.

21. Any novel feature or combination of features described herein.

Printed for Her Majesty's Stationery Office by the Courier Press, Leamington Spa, 1983. Published by the Patent Office 25 Southampton Buildings, London, WC2A lAY, from which copies may be obtained.